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Warm Holiday Greetings to Members, Friends, and Neighbors from the Clary Lake Association!
As our holidays approach, we experience both an ending and a look to new beginnings; thoughts come to us as we take stock of how we might have measured up in our aspirations over the past year and what might be the focus in the new year. We remember loved ones and friends who have left us and we gather close to those who are with us. This time of year can be both a joyous and cherished celebration as well as an expectation-ridden and even somber journey into memories past.
So, whatever traditions each of you and your families take part in this holiday season, remember that above all, this is the season of light and love. May both visit you and yours in abundance now, and in the year to come. Remember to be grateful and kind.
On Behalf of the Clary Lake Association Board,
Margaret Fergusson
Five days ago the lake was frozen solid. Two days later it rained heavily and the temperature rose to 50° needless to say, the ice didn’t last long. Normally we call ice-in when the meteorological conditions exist to allow the lake to freeze completely. We revise that date when the meteorological conditions exist to melt off the ice just a few days later! We’ll be revising the ice-in date when the lake finally freezes over again; the weather forecast is for single digit temperatures this weekend so it probably won’t be long.
It’s been a year of love and loss here on Clary Lake, two seemingly conflicting emotions which actually go hand in hand. It is with sadness that we mark the passing of yet another long time Clary Lake Association member, Audrey Relyea. I’ve spent a little time with Audrey off and on over the years. I would have liked the opportunity to get to know her better! The Relyea family over the years has played a significant role in the Association, and continues to do so. Her husband Bruce Relyea who is no longer with us was President of the Clary Lake Association in the early 2000s, and her son Steven is our current Vice President. Her granddaughter Hillary Relyea is our newest Board member. The family owns property on the South side of Clary Lake in Jefferson.
The following obituary recently appeared in the Fort Worth Star Telegram: Continue reading
After several false starts, the meteorological conditions necessary to freeze up the lake have finally occurred though it remains to be seen if the ice survives the rain and 50° temperature forecast for next Tuesday. Our ice-in and ice-out records go back to 2001 and for what it’s worth, today, December 15th, is the average ice-in date. There were 282 days in 2024 without ice on the lake, considerably more than the average of 254 ice-free days. Gorgeous looking ice, but I’d let it thicken before venturing out on it!
While 23 years really isn’t a long enough period of time for meaningful climate data analysis, a look at the above chart shows clears trends developing for later ice-in and earlier ice-out dates. However, the yellow line showing days between ice-in and ice-out picks up days on both ends and there’s no uncertainty at all in how that statistic is trending.
Tom liked among other things, fishing and drinking coffee. The above picture was taken at the State boat launch in early September 2022, Tom and his fishing buddy Chris Stoltz were just coming off the lake after a morning of stalking finned monsters up in the marsh, his favorite fishing haunt. I was conducting Courtesy Boat Inspections on Labor Day weekend, the last weekend of the CBI season. I’m pretty sure from the smile on his face that he was enjoying himself! Tom also liked coffee and he’d call me up on the spur of the moment and invite me over to his camp on the lake for a cup of his strong Louisiana coffee, or he’d show up at my house, unannounced, settle into a comfy chair, and enjoy a cup of my equally strong coffee. The picture at left is him doing just that, back in 2016. At times like these we’d have good and lengthy conversations on just about any subject but eventually we’d always end up talking about Clary Lake. Throughout those long hard years of the water level crisis and our seemingly endless battle for the survival of Clary Lake, at times the outlook was bleak. Tom was always there, always supportive, always upbeat and optimistic, and always full of ideas and inspiration. He helped me through a very difficult period of my life in more ways than I can mention. Over the years he has been a valuable steward of Clary Lake and a generous patron of the Clary Lake Association at a time when we needed all the help we could get. He will be remembered. He will be missed.
I had my last cup of coffee with Tom this past fall out on his deck just a week before he and his wife Delph packed up and left for Houston. I thanked him again for all his help over the years protecting and preserving Clary Lake. His response was a characteristically dismissive wave of his hand. His health had been failing, and I hoped, but doubted, that I would see him again. News of his passing was sad, but not unexpected. He was 93.
Here is Tom’s obituary, written by his son Baxter. The obituary should appear in the Houston Chronical this coming Tuesday and soon, in the Brunswick Times Record and the Lincoln County News. Continue reading
I just received news that my good friend Thomas Gillette has passed away. I had a cup of coffee with him a couple of months ago out on the deck of his home on the lake. I was so looking forward to having another one with him next summer. Thomas loved fishing on Clary Lake. The above picture, taken some years ago, shows Thomas proudly displaying a 7.5 pound largemouth bass he caught.
I’ll post his obituary when it becomes available.
I have archived the November 2024 water level chart (above, and at left). The dry weather we experienced in September and October continued with a vengeance in November, normally our wettest month with average monthly rainfall of 4.58 inches. We did end up receiving 2.81 inches or 61% of normal, almost all of it falling at the end of the month. Thanks to excess rain back in March, June, and August, we’re still almost 5 inches ahead for the year but even so, we remain firmly in Moderate Drought going into December. According to the USGS, groundwater levels in this area are quite low, even for this time of year. Continue reading
Everyday should be and is an opportunity to give thanks. During these difficult and unprecedented times, we can easily lose our footing in gratitude and only focus on what we don’t have, what we can’t do, and sadly for some of us, what we have lost. And so, we must remain steadfast in our work of living in the moment, taking nothing for granted and performing little acts of kindness. No earthly power can prevent us from living in this way.
May all of us, near and far, take a moment and remember what is truly important and know that it is found within. Happy Thanksgiving… now and always. Be kind and stay safe!
Margaret Fergusson
Mark Rowe took this drone photo and posted it on Facebook the other day and gave me permission to post it here. Great photo. This is looking west toward David Hodsdon’s point in the distance. I look forward to more drone shots in the future!
Dave Knight and I got Clarycam 2 back up and running today. The mounting is solid but the picture’s tilted a little bit and can’t easily be adjusted. It should last the winter however. Next spring I’ll redo the mounting and reset it.
Sometime around 5:45PM yesterday evening Camera 2 fell off the tree. It appears to be OK. I’ll get over there and remount it as soon as I can.
I have archived the October 2024 water level chart (above, and at left). The dry weather we experienced in September continued into October which is normally one of our wettest months, second only to November in average monthly rainfall. All told we only received only 2.13 inches of rain in October. For the year we’re still about 8 inches above normal precipitation thanks to excessive rain in March, June, and August but rainfall for September and October combined is only 3.89 inches, 4.40 inches less than normal. Despite the shortage of rain this fall, it is likely that ground water supplies are still in pretty good shape but the ground surface is pretty dried out and the fire danger is high. The US Drought Monitor shows this area as being “Abnormally Dry” but in “Moderate Drought” just a mile to the east of Clary Lake. Continue reading
It is with great sadness that I post this obituary of Rick Gallion that appeared in today’s online version of the Central Maine Papers. Rick always had a ready smile, a hearty laugh, and a helping hand which he extended freely and often. He will be missed.
JEFFERSON – Richard B. Gallion, 77, died suddenly on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, at Maine Medical Center in Portland.
Rick was born in Kansas City, Mo., on Oct. 11, 1947, the son of the late Virgil A. and Doris E. (Johnson) Gallion. He grew up in southeast Kansas and earned a B.A. in French literature from Pittsburg State University.
Rick served as a Green Beret in the United States Army but had conflicted feelings about the U.S. military. Rick married Saundra Mackey while he was in the service, and they divorced some years later after many adventures together. Saundra preceded in him death.
On Oct. 5, 1996, Rick married the love of his life, Linda S. Marrs Farrell, at the Topeka Kansas Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. Together they shared 28 wonderful years of marriage. Continue reading
I received word earlier today from Linda Gallion that her husband and business partner, Rick Gallion, passed away yesterday, very suddenly. Rick ran the Clary Lake Woodworking School and he and Linda together have run the Clary Lake Bed and Breakfast for the past 20 years. Rick was a good friend. He was 77 years old. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Linda and the family in this sad time.
Here are a couple of pictures (at left and above) of Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS taken by a friend of mine, John Meader, a really cool and talented photographer. The one at left was a handheld photograph. Amazing. Reproduced with permission. Among other things, he runs Northern Stars Planetarium.
Tonight’s sky is looking promising. For tips on observing, see yesterday’s post! Good Luck!
If you didn’t get a chance to spot Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS when it was a morning object, you still have a chance to catch it as an evening object. This is the brightest comet to pass by earth in some time. You’ll want to find a viewing place with a clear horizon to the west and be looking for it shortly after sunset which is currently 5:53 PM EST here in Whitefield. By 6:30 PM it should be visible about 20° above the horizon, almost due west. You’ll also see Venus, it’ll be quite bright. The comet will be a little to the right of and above Venus. You’ll also be able to see the moon and Saturn rising in the east. The comet has already swung around the Sun and is heading out of our solar system but it should remain visible for a few weeks. The comet is about magnitude 3.6 which makes it an easy naked eye object. Bring a pair of binoculars. Good luck!
Here’s a fun to use Star chart application:
More information about the comet:
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/153444/comet-tsuchinshan-atlas-arrives-from-afar
I happened across this video the other day and thought it worth sharing with our readers. It makes me think of how Clary Lake fits into a bigger picture, a picture we tend not to think about very often. “A Watershed Moment” tells the story of an all-hands effort involving fishermen, three coastal Maine communities, non-profit organizations, and state and federal management agencies to restore fish passage throughout the entire Bagaduce River Watershed in Maine. These grassroots efforts to bring back alewife, a keystone species that has allowed fishing communities to thrive have been remarkably successful. An unlikely group of partners, the story of this partnership is rooted in collaboration and can act as a beacon of hope for other communities and watersheds involved in fish passage restoration and community-driven science and stewardship. A Watershed Moment is a story about people, fish, and the water that connects them.
I have archived the September 2024 water level chart (above, and at left). September is often when fall rains start to pick up but that didn’t happen this year. September was dry. Normal rainfall for the month is 3.84 inches but this year we received less than half that amount, just 1.75 inches with most of it coming in one storm on the 26th. Still, despite drought conditions in September, for the year with 42.32 inches, we’re still well above normal rainfall for this date. Prior to the rain storm late last week, the US Drought Monitor showed our area to be “Abnormally dry” and I don’t think the rainfall fully alleviated that condition. Still, there’s a good deal of ground water thanks to all the excess rainfall we’ve received this season. Continue reading
Some of you might have noticed a little green algae collecting on your shoreline over the last couple of days. This is dead cyanobacteria that floats to the surface and gets pushed around by a gentle breeze. It dissipates fairly quickly so it’s easy to miss, it is what is often referred to as an “ephemeral algal bloom”. As the lake cools off and the thermocline breaks down, Phosphorus from the bottom of the lake starts to mix with the epilimnion (upper water layer) and it stimulates some algae growth. This is fairly normal this time of year for a mesotrophic lake like Clary. We’ve seen much worse. These events are usually so ephemeral that they often go unnoticed, especially with fewer people on or near the water at this time of year. I think we’ll avoid a severe bloom this fall thanks the low Phosphorus levels in the lake this summer: our August 11th water sample for Total Phosphorus testing came back at a paltry 11 µg/L (micrograms per liter) which is a record low value for Clary Lake going back to 1975. We’ll be taking one final water sample for TP testing next weekend.
Minor algal blooms like this do not pose a health risk for humans or animals.